November 9, 2022 – The Amazing Sky

For once I was able to watch a total eclipse of the Moon under clear skies from home. Good thing, as a snowstorm would have made travel a challenge.

On November 8, 2022 the Full Moon once again passed through the umbral shadow of the Earth, as it has done at six-month intervals for the last two years. The Moon turned deep red for almost an hour and a half.

This is the totally eclipsed Moon of November 8, 2022 set in the stars of Aries, with the planet Uranus nearby, visible as the greenish star about three Moon diameters away from the Moon at the 10 o’clock position.

This was to be the last total eclipse of the Moon visible from anywhere in the world until March 14, 2025.

However, in the days leading up to the eclipse weather prospects looked poor. The worse snowstorm — indeed the first major snowstorm for my area — was forecast for the day before the eclipse, November 7. Of course!

Weather prospects for eclipse time from the Astrospheric app.

For all the lunar eclipses in the last decade visible from my area, I have had to chase to find clear skies, perhaps a couple of hours away or a half day’s drive away. I documented those expeditions in previous posts, the latest of which is here for the May 15, 2022 total eclipse. In all cases I was successful.

However, just once it would be nice to be able to stay home. The last “TLE” I was able to watch from home was on December 21, 2010. It had been a long decade of lunar eclipse chasing!

But, it looked like another chase might be needed. Weather maps showed possible clear skies to the west and south of me on eclipse night. But cloud over me.

Other forecast models were a bit more optimistic.

The problem was with six inches of new snow having fallen and temperatures forecast to be in the minus 20s Celsius, any drive to a remote site was going to be unwise, especially at 3 am for the start of the eclipse in my time zone in Alberta.

I decided to — indeed was more or less forced to — stay put at home and hope for the best. So this was the “snowbound eclipse!”

Luckily, as the snowstorm receded east, clear skies followed, providing better conditions than I had expected. What a pleasure it was watching this eclipse from the comfort of home. While operating camera gear at -25° C was still a challenge, at least I could retreat inside to warm up.

A wide-angle view of the total eclipse of the Moon of November 8, 2022, with the red Moon at right amid the stars of the northern winter sky, plus with bright red Mars at top. Above and left of the Moon is the blue Pleiades star cluster, while below it and to the left is the larger Hyades cluster with reddish Aldebaran in Taurus. The stars of Orion are left of centre, including reddish Betelgeuse, while at far left are the two Dog Stars: Procyon, at top, in Canis Minor, and Sirius, at bottom, in Canis Major.

The view with the naked eye of the red Moon set in the winter sky was unforgettable. And the views though binoculars were, as always, the best for showing off the subtle colour gradations across the lunar disk.

A self-portrait of me observing the total eclipse of the Moon on November 8, 2022, on a very cold (-25° C) morning at 4 am.

As has been the tradition at the last few eclipses, I shot a souvenir selfie to show I was really there enjoying the eclipse.

A view of the aurora that appeared during the November 8, 2022 total eclipse of the Moon, as the sky darkened to reveal a show of Northern Lights on this very cold and icy night at 4 am.

A bonus was the appearance of some Northern Lights during totality. As the bright Moon dimmed during its passage into Earth’s umbral shadow, darkening the sky, the aurora began to appear to the north, opposite the eclipsed Moon.

Not a great display, but it was the first time I can recall seeing aurora during a lunar eclipse.

A parting shot of the now partially eclipsed Moon setting in the west down my driveway, early in the morning of November 8, 2022. With the Canon R6 and TTArtisan 21mm lens at f/2.8.

My parting view and photo was of the now partially eclipsed (and here overexposed) Moon emerging from the shadow and shining right down my rural snowbound driveway.

It was a perfect last look from home of a sight we won’t see again for two and half years.

— Alan, November 9, 2022 (amazingsky.com)